Namaste Lotus Family,

With the change of season in the air we are reminded of the necessity of change in our own lives so we can grow and we wholeheartedly embrace Barack Obama and the the huge change he represents for our country.

(from http://obamascrapbook.com/)

This month at Laughing Lotus, we celebrate the Gods and Goddesses, deities who serve as archetypes for the values and beliefs we wish to embody; we pay tribute to luminaries such as Ganesha, the remover of obstacles and the Lord of new beginnings; to Saraswati, the goddess of learning and the arts; and to Krishna, the embodiment of devotional love. In focusing our energies and awareness on supreme beings, we open ourselves to seeing and cultivating Divine qualities in ourselves.

Yogis and Hindus alike invoke and honor the elephant headed Ganesha at the beginnings of rituals and other undertakings. As many of us here in the U.S. seek new beginnings through voting in the upcoming election, we too ask for Ganesha's blessings as October's Love Saves The Day benefits the presidential campaign of Barack Obama. Senator Obama embodies many values that yogis too embrace: compassion, honesty, and economic and social justice. Like yogis, he too seeks moksha, or liberation, though of a different kind. As he has said: "Today we are engaged in a deadly global struggle for those who would intimidate, torture, and murder people for exercising the most basic freedoms. If we are to win this struggle and spread those freedoms, we must keep our own moral compass pointed in a true direction." Obama advocates a yogic equanimity that is responsive rather than reactionary, and a humane morality, one that is not lost even in the face of fears about global politics and material well-being.

Among some of Barack Obama's lesser known political plans, aside from his sage positions on Iraq and health care, are:

• The expansion of hate crimes protections including the passage of the Matthew Shepherd Act that would expand the current US hate crime law to include crimes that are motivated by a victim's gender, sexual orientation, or disability (the Act was dropped from legislation in 2007 due to opposition from conservative and President Bush). (To learn more about Obama's stands on civil rights, click here.)
• More than 37 million Americans, though they work, live in poverty. Part of Barack Obama's economic plan is to raise the federal minimum wage to $9.50 by 2011. He also will work to ensure that US low-wage workers (3/4 of whom receive no paid sick days) receive 7 paid sick days a year, instead of having to live with the worry of losing their jobs by calling in sick.
• The fight for pay equity for women: as a State Senator, Obama cosponsored the Illinois Equal Pay Act, which protects women from pay discrimination. As president, he will continue to struggle for equal pay for women (who still only earn 77 cents to each dollar a man makes). (To find out more about Obama's work on behalf of women, click here.)

As we strive to retain our compassion, effectiveness, and divine equanimity during this Kali-like whirlwind of an electoral season, writer Anne Lamott (something of a deity in her own right) offer sage advice:

"...since there are still six weeks until the election, and since the stakes are as high as the sky, which should definitely not be forced to endure four more years of the same, we have got to get a grip. There are millions of people to register to vote, millions of dollars to be raised. We really cannot go around feeling flat and defeated...

Everything you need to know about how to bear up during these two months is already inside you. Go within: Work on your own emotional acre. Stand still, and hurt, and feel crazy. Then drink a lot of water, pray, meditate, rest. Rest is a spiritual act...

Figure out one thing you can do every single day to be a part of the solution, concentrating on swing states. Money, walking precincts, registering voters, whatever. This is the only way miracles ever happen -- left foot, right foot, left foot, breathe. Right foot, left foot, right foot, breathe. The great novelist E.L. Doctorow once said that writing a novel is like driving at night with the headlights on: You can only see a little ways in front of you, but you can make the whole journey this way. It is the truest of all things; the only way to write a book, raise a child, save the world..." (To read Lamott's entire call to arms, click here.)

Barack Obama himself reminds us, "If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress." And so, as we open our souls to the deities this month, don't forget that you too are on a Divine path. Keep walking it, retain your equanimity amidst the madness, pray for change, and most of all, support your candidate in whatever way you can. To get involved with voting drives, campaigning, and even to help your divine neighbors get to their polling places, go to http://www.barackobama.com. And remember, love saves the day!